The 2018-19 Student Activities Awards, presented this past week in the Keystone Dining Room, honored Penn College students, their faculty/staff mentors and the campus organizations that thrive through their involvement.
Pennsylvania College of Technology has received a $1,587 grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. The funds are supporting programming and educational outreach efforts in conjunction with the exhibit “The Hundred Dresses Project: We Are All in This Together,” slated for this summer at The Gallery at Penn College.
The gallery invited third, fourth and fifth grade students from Lycoming County’s eight school districts to create works of art to add to the exhibit, scheduled for June 4 through July 23. Art educators from six of the school districts accepted the invitation to participate and received a copy of the book, markers and dress prints for each participating student.
U.S. and Pennsylvania flags are flying at half-staff in honor of Marine Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, of York, and Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman – a New York City firefighter who was deployed out of Harrisburg – who were killed April 8 by a roadside bomb while serving in Afghanistan. The flags will remain lowered until sunset Friday, the day of Slutman’s funeral. (Services for Hines will be held Wednesday.)
Co-workers Probst (left) and Wack return to Penn College …… for presentations on Autodesk Inventor iLogic software.
A computer aided drafting technology alumnus and a faculty retiree returned to campus this month for multiple presentations to students in the engineering design technology and engineering CAD technology majors.
Bryan A. Wack, who graduated in 2006 and manages the engineering department at JPW Industrial Ovens & Furnaces in Trout Run, and David A. Probst, who retired last year as an assistant professor of engineering design technology and works part time at JPW, spoke to students enrolled in Katherine A. Walker’s CAD Management and Customization course.
A memorial service will be Wednesday for Frederick J. Rankinen, Penn College’s first department head for civil engineering technology, who died Saturday, April 20, at the age of 80. A faculty member from 1968 until his retirement in 2001, he was the 1992 recipient of Penn College’s “Master Teacher” award. Rankinen’s son, Jeffrey L., is an associate professor of electronics in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, and his brother, Richard W., retired as an associate professor of forestry in 2006. The service will be at 11:30 a.m. at Nippenose Bible Fellowship, 92 Schoolhouse Road, Jersey Shore. The family will receive friends from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service at the church. A complete obituary was published in Tuesday’s editions of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
CPE David A. Gadalla, an aviation maintenance technology major from Mechanicsburg, and Sammie L. Davis, coordinator of diversity and cultural life, plant the seeds for a greener planet,A tie-dyeing station was among the attractions, with commemorative T-shirts …… awaiting participants’ unique and colorful designs. Adding that personal touch is Olivia C. Ferki, of Richboro, a plastics and polymer engineering technology major.Against an apt array of solar panels, CPE Alexis J. Medero, a civil engineering technology student from Levittown, invites passersby to join the fun.
Penn College’s Community Peer Educators led a celebration and dialogue about Earth Day on Monday, setting an example for environmental stewardship through a number of activities in a fittingly pleasant outdoor setting. The observance – marked nationally since 1970 – will continue with an organized Williamsport cleanup on Sunday, arranged by Diversity & Community Engagement and beginning at 1 p.m. on the Klump Academic Center patio.
Chef Manuel Uribe, sous chef of Chicago’s Terzo Piano and a faculty member in the Jerome J. Drosos School of Culinary Arts at Triton College, headlined Penn College’s 2019 Visiting Chef Series, lending his knowledge and skill as he guided students in preparing a Mediterranean-themed dinner. He was joined by Rachel Erceg, lead pastry chef for Terzo Piano. In addition to providing valuable hands-on experience for students, the dinner that culminated the chefs’ multiday stay on campus provides scholarship funds for hospitality students.
The students tear down a semi-hermetic compressor during the hands-on portion of the class.Bernard Servello, technical training specialist for Emerson, explains compressor cooling.Ostrowski (left) and Woelfel (right), join Manbeck at the COSS training. Both students are actively involved in the Penn College student chapter of the Air Conditioning Contractors of America : Ostrowski as president and Woelfel as vice president.Dave Dunn, technical training specialist for Emerson, explains compressor applications for R290 propane refrigerant.Makdad (center), with Hassinger (left) and Manbeck
Through support from Makdad Supply Co. Inc., two Penn College students and an instructor recently attended an Emerson Compressor Operation and Service Seminar at the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology. While heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors from across the region attended the event – an in-depth, three-day program packed with everything an HVACR service technician needs to know to install, service and maintain Copeland compressors – Makdad sponsored seats for HVACR majors from CPI and the two students from Penn College. Among attendees were Ronald J. Ostrowski III, of Shavertown, and Zeph L. Woelfel, of Kersey, graduating next month with associate degrees in heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology, and Stephen D. Manbeck, an assistant professor of HVAC technology. Company owner Jack Makdad met with Manbeck and CPI’s Ken Hassinger to discuss how to provide similar training, as well as access to a variety of vendors and industry resources. The institutions already share a strong connection through the Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program. That initiative allows high school seniors to earn up to five college credits while enrolled at CPI, credits that help them get a head start on an associate degree at Penn College. Photos provided
End-of-the-season North Eastern Athletic Conference championships will be on the line later this week for Pennsylvania College of Technology golfers and tennis players. Tennis action is scheduled Thursday through Saturday at the Birchwood Tennis Center in Clarks Summit and golf action is set for Saturday and Sunday at Foxchase Golf Club in Stevens.
PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.
Students and faculty visit a pair of Honda facilities for an instructional helping of vehicular lore.A jet engine is among the displays at the Honda Heritage Center.The group receives an overview of plant operations, from “rolled steel to driving car.”In two years of American Le Mans Series competition, this Honda-powered ARX-03a Muscle Milk Racing car had an unmatched record of success.
Second-year collision repair majors and students in the automotive technology: Honda PACT program recently visited the Honda Heritage Center and Honda manufacturing facility in Marysville, Ohio, learning about the history of the Honda Motor Co. and its various technologies, as well as how the manufacturing process relates to their curriculum at Penn College. The Heritage Center, a museum showcasing the history of Honda manufacturing in the U.S., includes vehicles from motorcycles and ATVs to passenger cars, race vehicles and jet engines. It also features information about company founder Soichiro Honda, while the Honda manufacturing facility introduced students to vehicle manufacturing from its start as a coil of sheet metal to a finished product driving off the assembly line. The students were accompanied by Loren R. Bruckhart, collision repair instructor, and Joe A. Tavani, Honda PACT instructor. Photos provided
Immersed in his work, Ferraro engages the gallery crowd.Echoing the multi-directional exhibit, patrons take divergent paths to appreciation.Interactive exhibit, interactive creatorBut is it art? Yes, it most certainly is!Ferraro discusses his work, as a popular exhibit comes to a close.
The campus community turned out for Thursday’s closing of “Every Which Way,” a collection of mailable sculptures and interactive installations by Abraham Ferraro, on display in The Gallery at Penn College for the past month. The final day included a free, public reception from 4:30 to 6:30 and a talk by the artist at 5:30. Next on the gallery’s season schedule are a pair of exhibits featuring the work of graphic design majors (April 30 to May 10) and students in the building science and sustainable design program (May 16-23). Photos by Rachel A. Eirmann, student photographer
More than a half-dozen employers will hold information sessions and other networking events in the coming week, hoping to attract students and graduates from a variety of academic majors. Several of the companies will also hold follow-up interviews during their respective visits to main campus.
Scheduled are:
Geisinger – information table in the lobby of the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, April 22
Plum-Air Inc. – interviews Tuesday, April 23; Room 202, Bush Campus Center
Blue Ridge Industries – information session at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23; ATHS, Room E140 (Interviews Wednesday; CC, Room 202)
Student Transportation of America Inc. – information session at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23; Room 110, Electrical Technologies Center
Welding Recruitment Day – 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, April 24; CC, Room 201 (LMV Automotive Systems), Room 205 (JLG Industries Inc.) and 207 (JWF Industries)
Interviews Thursday in CC, Room 202
BJ Services – information session at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25; CC, Room 205
For more on most of the employers, including available positions and sought-after majors, check out the Career Services flyer: Employers
A complete remodel of the 1800s-era Franklin School, being transformed into a “Planet Word” museum of languageWith the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument behind them, the group poses atop Hensel Phelps’ renovations to the Martin Federal Reserve Building in downtown Washington, D.C.Getting a look inside the Reagan National Airport’s new terminal, an Allan Myers projectClark Construction is undertaking this mixed-use county/municipal/retail building in Silver Spring, Md.
Penn College’s Construction Management Association recently took 24 students to Washington, D.C., for a tour of six major works-in-progress, including expansion projects at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Ronald Reagan National Airport. Photos by Wayne R. Sheppard, assistant professor and department head for construction management
Johnson (left) accepts his award from Ziegler.Students gather for a face-to-face meeting with their chosen field.Among attendees are (at right) Carol A. Lugg, dean of construction and design technologies, and JoAnn Dobeck.First-year surveying technology majors (from left): Brayden M. Ross, of Williamsport; Bret A. Yetter, of Liverpool; Zane G. Dutton, of Blanchard; and Andrew C. Hamilton, of Meadville
The Susquehanna Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors recently hosted its Ed Dobeck Memorial Award dinner meeting, an annual event that enables regional land surveyors to welcome Penn College surveying technology students into the profession.
U.S. and Pennsylvania flags are flying at half-staff in honor of Marine Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines, of York, and Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman – a New York City firefighter who was deployed out of Harrisburg – who were killed April 8 by a roadside bomb while serving in Afghanistan. The flags will remain lowered until sunset Friday, the day of Slutman’s funeral. (Services for Hines will be held Wednesday.)
A memorial service will be Wednesday for Frederick J. Rankinen, Penn College’s first department head for civil engineering technology, who died Saturday, April 20, at the age of 80. A faculty member from 1968 until his retirement in 2001, he was the 1992 recipient of Penn College’s “Master Teacher” award. Rankinen’s son, Jeffrey L., is an associate professor of electronics in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, and his brother, Richard W., retired as an associate professor of forestry in 2006. The service will be at 11:30 a.m. at Nippenose Bible Fellowship, 92 Schoolhouse Road, Jersey Shore. The family will receive friends from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service at the church. A complete obituary was published in Tuesday’s editions of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
